The “We Build” campaign changed
the game in Miller’s competitive space —
both in form and function. A customer-focused effort flipped the overwhelming
use of “arcs and sparks” imagery — as
Thompson describes it — on its head,
making Miller’s customers the stars of its
campaigns. At the same time, the extensive and successful use of online video
and social media belies the old-school
image you might have when thinking of
the welding market.

Thompson says, “The greatest compliment we could ever receive is that our
competitor, Lincoln Electric, rushed a
lookalike campaign that tried to copy
some of our elements within 30 days of
the ‘We Build’ launch. Thirty;days after
that, another big competitor, ESAB,
rushed out a campaign out that did the
same. They tried to copy the structure of
what we did, but never captured the soul
of what ‘We Build’ is really all about.”

Authenticity and Partnership

The authenticity of the ongoing “We
Build” campaign is one of the keys to its
success. Authenticity is also one of the
words that comes to mind when chatting
with Thompson, who is an open book
about his background, his responsibilities,
and his goals at ITW.

“My responsibilities include market-ing leadership through market insightsand customer relationship management(CRM), creating strategies and creativeexpression of those strategies throughour four key brands — Miller, Hobart,Bernard, and Tregaskiss — overarchingdigital marketing, and experiential formsof marketing through our tradeshow,roadshow, and motorsports market-ing programs,” Thompson says. “Thisincludes go-to-market activities aroundproduct launch and dynamics with ourdistribution channels. I am;privileged tolead a talented team of 20 professionalsfrom all different marketing and businessdisciplines that help form and make ourstrategies and tactics come to life withgreat effect.”Thompson’s history in marketingconsumer products informs his efforts atITW.“My backgroundis one of marketing,general business andproduct manage-ment, and leader-ship;in senior levelroles beginning inthe pet supply indus-try, then on to majornational/global brands at Newell Rub-bermaid (now Newell Brands) and withDuPont for its Teflon® brand,” he says.

“Having several;experiences in managingand owning P&Ls, ideation (Thompsonis a two-time patent holder) of variousnew products and bringing them market,brand management, and direct responsemarketing have helped me to successfullytranscend industry each time I have madea career move. No matter the challenge,through application of solid marketingand business principles, I have learnedand applied the ability to;be able to flexthem to the markets I serve withoutbreaking or sacrificing what makes themeffective.”Thompson’s consistency is a greatfit at ITW, a publicly-traded company(NYSE: ITW) that was founded a cen-tury ago in Chicago and has grown tomore than 750 decentralized businessunits. ITW Welding — Thompson’s divi-sion — brings in more than 12 percentof the company’s $14 billion in annualoperating revenues.

ITW Welding and its brands comprise
one of the world’s leading manufacturers
of specialized industrial equipment, consumables, and related service businesses
— with operations in 57 countries and
more than 50,000 employees.

The Miller brand — started in 1929 as
a one-man operation by Niels Miller — is
headquartered in Appleton, Wis., and
builds advanced, solution-focused products that meet crucial needs for welding
safety and health. Given the success of
the “We Build” campaign, it’s no shock
that, according to Miller’s website
( millerwelds.com), “We’re about the
partnership and the work. Our products
are designed with our users for manufacturing, fabrication, construction, aviation, motorsports, education, agriculture,

Miller’s “We Build” campaign includes a compelling
social media component (seen here on Facebook and
Instagram) that drives conversation between the brand
and “hundreds of thousands” of users, according to Rich
Thompson.